Mayor Landrieu commemorates another milestone in City's continued fight on blight

January 07, 2014

NEW ORLEANS, LA – Today, Mayor Mitch Landrieu joined District C Councilmember Kristin Gisleson Palmer and representatives of the Louisiana Land Trust and the State of Louisiana Office of Community Development to commemorate the demolition of the abandoned, blighted structures at the former Southwood Patio Homes located at 4300 Sullen Place in Algiers.

Originally financed with assistance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), 4300 Sullen Place was the subject of a foreclosure proceeding instituted by HUD, which agreed to convey the property to Louisiana Land Trust (LLT). LLT began demolition of all blighted structures except for the community center and parking lots with approximately $900,000 in Community Development Block Grant funding.

“The demolition of the former Southwood Patio Homes is a huge victory,” Mayor Landrieu said. “This blighted property has been cited repeatedly and its demolition is a positive sign of progress here in Algiers. Properties like this are unacceptable. They are unsafe, attract crime, and depress property values. I want to thank the Louisiana Land Trust and the State of Louisiana’s Office of Community Development for their efforts in helping the City of New Orleans achieve another milestone in our work to reduce our blight count by 10,000 properties. By listening to the community and working together, we can achieve great things.”

Mayor Landrieu added, “Thanks to a lot of hard work and a smart strategy, we are fixing blight faster here than anywhere else in the country. Using an aggressive enforcement strategy, the City obtained guilty judgments against blighted property owners. In addition to aggressive enforcement leading to demolition, we’ve brought properties back into commerce through sheriff sale auctions and code lien foreclosures. As we continue to rebuild all of our neighborhoods, we expect all property owners to comply with the law, including those who received Road Home grants. We will use every enforcement method available to hold these property owners accountable and to revitalize our community. We look forward to a report later this week on our efforts fighting blight.”